Christmas ad spend to hit £6bn

This Christmas is expected to see almost £6bn spent on UK seasonal advertising, according to an industry association.

The Advertising Association said this year’s festive season would see the largest ever spend, up 37% year-on-year since 2010 to hit £5.92bn.

The association said its research showed half of people (47%) had been moved to tears by a Christmas ad and a third (33%) were “just as excited about a premiere of a Christmas advert as they are for any film release”.

One in six Britons have changed plans to watch the premiere of an ad, while John Lewis’s Buster the Boxer ad, shown in 2016, became the most shared advert of all time.

John Lewis will premiere its 2017 ad campaign, featuring a boy and an imaginary monster under his bed, this evening.

Marks & Spencer’s campaign features Paddington Bear mistaking a burglar for Father Christmas.

Karen Fraser, director of the Advertising Association’s think tank Credos, said: “Businesses delivering advertising with emotional resonance can be rewarded with powerful, long-term effects into the new year and beyond.

“As we forecast a record spend from advertisers, many people now see the official start of Christmas as when we hear or see a particular advertisement.”